The present invention relates to garments having protrusions on a surface of the garment. More particularly, the present invention relates to garments and undergarments, including absorbent articles, such as disposable diapers and feminine protective devices, which have surface protrusions for securing the garment around a wearer. The present invention also relates to articles to be attached to a wearer, such as body wraps having surface protrusions for securing the body wrap around the wearer.
Fastening systems for connecting or holding together portions of garment materials are available in many different forms, including buttons, snap fasteners, tape tab fasteners, hook-and-loop fasteners, and the like. Such fastening systems can be utilized on garments and disposable garments, such as absorbent articles, body wraps, bibs, bedsheets, tablecloths and the like.
In the field of absorbent articles, such as disposable diapers and feminine protection devices, various types of fasteners are commonly provided to hold cooperating portions of the structure in a desired spatial relationship. In disposable diapers, for example, a frequently-utilized form of fastener system includes a separately-attached fastener member in the form of a tape tab. Such fastening system includes a first adhesive carried on a portion of the area of one surface of the tab to enable the tab to be securely and non-removably attached to a surface of the garment. A portion of the area of the same tab surface includes a free end that extends from the garment and that carries a second, pressure-sensitive adhesive. A peelable release strip is usually provided to cover and protect the pressure-sensitive adhesive surface until it is to be adhered to another surface. When it is intended to be employed, the release strip is removed from the tape tab to permit the pressure-sensitive adhesive surface to be pressed against and to releasably adhere to a cooperating surface to engage the fastening system. The cooperating surface sometimes carries a separately-applied contact member, generally in the form of a separate strip of material that defines a landing zone that is especially adapted to receive and to releasably retain the pressure-sensitive-adhesive-carrying surface of the tape tab. Examples of such tape tabs and landing zones are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,151,092, entitled xe2x80x9cAbsorbent Article With Dynamic Waist Feature Having A Predisposed Resilient Flexural Hinge,xe2x80x9d which was issued on Sep. 29, 1992, to Buell et al.
Another form of fastening system that has been utilized on garments, including disposable garments such as disposable diapers, is a hook-and-loop type fastening system, one example of which is the trademarked name VELCRO(copyright). When provided in that form, a separately-formed tab member that includes a surface area having a large number of relatively small, outwardly-extending hook elements is generally firmly and securely attached to a portion of the garment, as by an adhesive, by heat sealing, or the like, to provide a hook member. The hook elements are adapted to engage with a second separately-formed, cooperating surface that is securely attached to the garment, as by an adhesive, by heat sealing, or the like, and that carries a plurality of relatively small, outwardly-extending loop elements providing a loop member. The hook member of the fastener system is brought into contact with the loop member and the two fastener members are pressed together to cause the hook elements to engage with and to be retained by the loop elements, to thereby hold together the two portions of the garment that carry the respective hook and loop members. One form of such hook and loop fastener members for a diaper is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,081,772, entitled xe2x80x9cDiaper,xe2x80x9d which was issued on Mar. 19, 1963, to Brooks et al.
A still further form of fastening system for a disposable diaper, one in which each of the cooperating fastener members is integrally formed as a part of the garment is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,269,776, entitled xe2x80x9cDisposable Diaper With Refastenable Mechanical Fastening System,xe2x80x9d which issued on Dec. 14, 1993, to Lancaster et al. The fastening system disclosed in that patent includes resiliently interlocking gripping means and target means that are each separately and integrally formed on respective spaced front and rear waist extensions of a disposable diaper. Each of the gripping means and the target means includes a plurality of respective outwardly-extending, interengageable connectors in the form of projections on the gripping means, and correspondingly-configured projection receptacles on the target means. The connectors and receptacles are each oriented to extend perpendicularly relative to the respective surfaces on which they are formed, and they are adapted to be pressed into engaging relationship with each other to retain the associated structural elements together in contacting relationship.
However, the garments having fastening systems described above do not provide enough flexibility and softness in the fastening area itself, sometimes causing physical discomfort to the wearer. Further, the fasteners described above are expensive because both fastener surfaces, i.e., gripping means and target means, need to be formed. Still further, the conventional fastening systems are not complimented with integrally-formed high friction areas intended to contact the skin of the wearer to reduce the tendency of the garment to slip during use.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a garment having a fastening system that is more flexible, softer and comfortable to the wearer. Further, it would be desirable to provide a garment having a fastening surface, which is formed integrally from a first region of the garment and is adapted to be releasably engaged with loops in a second region of the garment. Still further, it would be desirable to provide a garment having high friction areas to resist relative movements of the garment in relation to the skin of the wearer in order to provide the garment with the desired functional characteristics when in use by the wearer. Finally, it would be desirable to provide a method for forming a material of the above garment.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a method for mechanically forming at least one surface protrusion integrally from a garment material is provided. The surface protrusions extend outwardly from a surface of the garment material and have a configuration and an orientation in relation to the surface of the garment material. The method includes the following steps:
Providing a portion of the garment including the garment surface onto which the surface protrusions will be formed. Further, providing a forming die having a first surface and a second surface opposed to the first surface, the first surface having a plurality of openings which have a configuration and orientation corresponding with the configuration and orientation of the surface protrusions of the garment material, the openings providing communication between the first surface and the second surface of the forming die. Further, placing at least one selected area of the garment surface against the first surface of the forming die, and softening the garment surface by application of a source of energy. Further, applying a vacuum to the second surface of the forming die to draw at least some of the softened garment surface into the openings from the first surface of the forming die, and separating the forming die from the garment surface to form the surface protrusions.
The source of energy applied to the garment surface can be induction heating, ultrasonic vibrations, micro waves, radio waves, infrared waves, a laser beam, or an electron beam. The openings in the forming die can have a configuration of a circle, an ellipse, an oval, a triangle, a rectangle, an extended rectangle or a polygonal. The openings also can have a configuration of a bore or a slot.